


I'll Keep You Safe

by Moonlit_notebook



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Falling In Love, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Matt Holt has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Mild Language, Post-Season/Series 03, Rare Pairings, Rebel Leader Matt Holt, Rebel Matt Holt, The paladins show up eventually, based on a sleeping at last song, one before the rest, rated for language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-02-24 02:15:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13203621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonlit_notebook/pseuds/Moonlit_notebook
Summary: When Matt Holt escaped Galra imprisonment, he walked away with a scar across his chin, nightmares, some PTSD, and an overwhelming need to whatever he can to destroy the Galra Empire.So when the Rebellion's General asks him to lead the mission to save a Paladin of Voltron that the Galra had taken prisoner, he accepts.And if the Defender of the Universe just happens to be a beautiful alien princess? Well, then maybe Matt finally lucked out.





	1. Darkness Will Be Rewritten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Few things before we begin: obviously, this diverges from canon a bit. But I'd like to think that there was some organized rebellion before the Voltron Coalition was on the playing field, so here we are. The title of this fic and all chapter titles come from the song "I'll Keep You Safe" by Sleeping at Last. You don't have to listen to it for this fic, but it's a good song that you should listen to anyway. The chapter count is liable to change, ya da ya da, you get the gist. Leave kudos if you like it and tell me your thoughts in the comments!

Matt had been terrified. 

The Galra had taken away everything he'd ever known or worked for. They'd abducted him and his team (his father, his best friend,) from their mission on Pluto's moon Kerberos. It was the farthest into space that mankind had ever been. Now Matt knew why.

The Galra had taken his father away from him, to what they called a "work camp". Matt knew enough about the Second World War to know that he'd probably never see his father alive again. That was bad enough, but then they'd taken Shiro and himself and thrown them into an arena to fight one of their bloodthirsty monsters to the death. It reminded Matt of the gladiator fights of Rome, though he doubted that any were this unfair or this cruel. Almost all the aliens there with Matt and Shiro looked as though they'd been there a lot longer. They looked like they were rotting. One of them told Matt to get the fight over with, to surrender early and maybe it will be a painless death.

Matt was supposed to go first. 

When they reached the arena, everyone had been forced into a single file line. There seemed to be no order to it, and Matt had been more focused on trying to see all he could of his would-be opponent. The 'Champion' that everyone whispered about. But then Matt was first in line.

He had been terrified.

"I'm not going to make it!" He'd said. "I'm never going to see my family again!"

Perhaps that was the worst of it. His family had always been important to him, as his family was the only people he'd ever really had. The only people he could really rely on. His sister was the only one who could keep up with his ramblings about science, adding her own thoughts and tidbits when she wanted to. His dad had helped him study to get into the Garrison in the first place, and the reason he had this opportunity, this mission. His mother was the kindest and wisest person he knew and helped him with any problem he came across. And Shiro? Shiro had been his roommate. Shiro had become family after two years of friendship with Matt, through late nights and laughs, Shiro had become a brother. Matt wasn't sure if he would have graduated without Shiro, much less alongside him. Shiro was all Matt had in the few precious moments before his certain death in the arena.

"You can do this!" Shiro told him.

Matt didn't believe him, not for a second. He hadn't spent hours in the gym with Shiro and Keith, he didn't have any sort of sustainable strength or abilities. Nothing that would help him last in a fight. Matt had been too busy while Shiro went to the gym. Too busy with the lab, too busy with work, too busy to put the effort in simple sparring. And now karma was kicking his ass for it in the worst way possible. Maybe she really was a bitch.

Matt was certain, in that moment, that he wouldn't see tomorrow. Wouldn't ever escape the Galra prisons, Wouldn't ever see his home or his family again. Wouldn't get to fall in love and have two kids and tell them silly stories about the stars as bedtime stories. Wouldn't live to be thirty and make old-people jokes.

The robotic guard pointed the strange sword at Matt, and his thoughts and body froze. This was it.

He was going to turn and tell Shiro to take care of his father for him when he was thrown backward. Shiro ran in front of him and grabbed the weapon. Shiro had screamed, "This is my fight!" and the next thing Matt knew was that his leg had been split open by the sword and Shiro was insane and pinning him to the ground.

Matt had been terrified.

Then Shiro's entire demeanor changed and everything made sense and he was saying "Take care of your father," and being pulled away from him.

'No,' Matt had wanted to say. 'That's your job.' But he was too far to hear him, and it didn't matter now. Shiro was as good as gone. 

Matt watched as Shiro was dragged into the gladiator fight. An alien that Matt had never heard the name of helped Matt to his feet, but Matt wasn't looking at him. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the Galra taking the last family he had. His brother-in-arms and best friend for a lifetime. 

Matt had been angry.

Angry at the Galra, angry at the Garrison, angry at his dad, angry at Shiro, angry at himself. And Matt wasn't the kind of person to let anger rot. He taunted the soldiers that supervised him, learned their language so that he could do it properly, he used every language he knew from Earth and every insult he could think of. He'd programmed one of their units to do the Macarena whenever someone spoke to it. He'd changed the colors of the lighting in the cells so that they were a warm yellow instead of purple (a color that the Galra seemed to be obsessed with). He'd had an entire block of sentries rigged to do a conga line, music and all, around the room whenever anyone said 'Vrepit Sa'.

There were other incidents, other times when Matt pushed buttons until they caught him, and then he was tortured black and blue. Then he did it again, and the cycle repeated. 

This got him sent to one of the Galra's top security prisons (one with a druid present), which the Phoenix Rebellion had broken him out of. They had sent in a team of five for a retrieval mission, taken him to their main base (a city named Lumiere Noveau on an uncharted planet) and offered him a place in their ranks. And no, not a low one. Apparently, skills like Matt's weren't very widespread in space and were in high demand because of the Galra's AI-based system.

(Pidge would love it.)

Matt taught the Phoenix's recruits how to hack sentries and drones, how to access security feeds, and how to recreate the Galra's programming to use it against them. He'd even done this himself (as an example, of course) and programmed an old pyramid drone to follow him around and keep his schedule for him. (He'd named it Parrot, partially because he had it repeat his instructions in class and because he'd stained the metal to be Phoenix's orange so that nobody would get it confused with another robot. The reminder of home was good for him.)

He also helped program various things on the bases that the General sent him to. Target practice bots, fighting simulators, flying simulators, medics, databases, and even night watch bots.

With his status as the "Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Consultant Commander" (a title that he was the first to hold) Matt got full access to any information that was received from Galra ships and even got to lead his own missions every once and a while when he deemed something worth it (or when the General assigned him to one). He mostly took the robots he'd programmed with him, as his style was very "get in, get out, wreck havoc", and they were good with that. He also had a right-hand named Pirik.

Pirik's skills were nearly as good as Matt's. He came from a tech-based planet and had been captured by the Galra trying to escape his Empire-run planet before the Phoenix had rescued him. His genius and abilities made Matt very glad he was on their side. He was an invaluable asset, and the closest thing Matt had to a friend.

* * *

 It was a good three months in when the General called Matt in during breakfast.

It wasn't entirely unusual for the General to call him into her office. But it set his nerves off every time. (He blamed Iverson and his yelling tendencies.)

General Fleon was harsh, but not cruel. She reminded him a little of his mother when she was scolding him for not being careful when playing outside, or when she gave him a lecture about riding his bike with his sister sitting on the handlebars.

"Commander Holt, do you know why I've called you here?"

That was another development he forgot to mention. When he got his title, it was somewhat shortened to 'Commander'. So when people said 'Commander Holt' now they meant Matt, and not his father. (A slightly more painful reminder of home.)

"No ma'am, has there been a problem in my department?"

The General shakes her head. "No, but you will receive a report shortly about the Galra's capture of a Paladin of Voltron."

"Voltron? The Voltron?" Matt asked.

"I don't believe I stuttered, Holt," the General said sharply.

"Apologies, ma'am. It's just a little hard to believe that a Paladin of Voltron, such an integral and elusive part of the fight against the Galra Empire, would be captured."

"Yes, the report states the details of the fight, but Voltron was severely damaged, as well as losing their paladin."

"Why are you telling me this, General?"

General Fleon smiled (or at least the alien equivalent of a smile) at him. "I was hoping you would ask that, Holt. I want you to lead the rescue mission."

Matt sat back in his chair. He couldn't stop his mouth from opening in shock, and he certainly couldn't argue against the chuckle that the General gave at his reaction.

"Well, Holt," She said. "There's no need to be so surprised. Your previous missions have all been successful, you are good with people, you think quickly, and you're the most efficient Commander we have. This could be the first step in gaining the trust and assistance of Team Voltron, so we best make it a good one. You may bring Pirik and four other soldiers. You leave in two days, I expect a final statement on your team first thing tomorrow. Good luck, Commander."

Matt, who had momentarily forgotten where he was, quickly stood to give the General a salute (left arm across the chest, not entirely unlike the salutes he gave back at the Galaxy Garrison) and head out the door.

The General stopped him with an "Oh, and Holt?"

"Yes, General?"

"Keep this quiet. I don't want the public privy to know about it in case it doesn't work out, and certainly not the Galra."

"Of course, General. Thank you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me who you think got captured/who Matt's going to save. I'm curious to know!


	2. Hold Out Your Hand, Can You Feel the Weight of it?

Pirik met Matt outside the General's office, anxiously fidgeting (apparently some alien species had similar body language to human's, who knew?) until he saw Matt.

"What did she want? Was it another problem with the cafeteria sentries? Because I swear I fixed that bug. I wouldn't lie to you like this, Matthew."

Matt started the journey to his makeshift office, Pirik following closely behind. 

"Nothing like that, Pirik," Matt assured. "Just another mission."

He walked a little faster than he usually would, eager to get back and start reviewing potential team members and strategy ideas, and see if the report the General told him about had reached his desk yet. Pirik kept up with his pace, only being slightly shorter than Matt.

"From General Fleon? Don't we usually just get a report about one?"

"This one's a little different."

Matt turned right when they reached the cafeteria, entering the door that was only for superior officers. (A shortcut he only took advantage of on some occasions.)

"How so?" Pirik asked. 

Making sure no one was around them, Matt said, "The General wants me to assemble a team to rescue a Paladin of Voltron from the Galra."

"Wait, the General asked you to do _what?!"_ Pirik shouted.

Matt shushed him. "Keep it quiet, this is under strict orders to be kept confidential."

"Well yeah, but this is _fantastic!_ Imagine the promotion potential! And, _Dieu,_ imagine what Karrek will say! This gives you amazing bragging rights!"

"Pirik, please," Matt said. "The General wants this kept quiet. We can't go bragging about it."

"But Maaaaatt," Pirik whined. "Karrek gives me so much flack about staying in the city with robots."

"But you're good with robots," Matt argued. "And you're the entire reason Karrek is still alive, anyway. Without you, he would have died a dozen missions ago."

"Yeah, see, I know that. And you know that. But Karrek _doesn't."_

"You still can't brag about the new mission."

"Oh, come on, Matt, please?"

"No."

They had reached Matt's office. He started scanning the recently delivered envelopes on his desk, searching for the report about the Paladin. He instructed Pirik to find potential team members and see who was available from previous missions. 

When he finally found the envelope with the report in it, he read it almost frantically, trying to memorize every detail. The paladin had been captured just yesterday, not a full ten hours ago. 

The paladin's lion had also been captured and was on the same ship as the paladin. They were going to be transported to another ship tomorrow, and then to central command the day after that. There was a map of the ship and specific times (tomorrow, three hours before the paladin was transferred) and places (the bottom of the ship, near the rear end of it and toward the left side) where the ship would be vulnerable enough to infiltrate. The paladin was held at the high-security point of the ship (on the other end) and the lion was closer to the vulnerable point. 

There were a good dozen and a half actual Galra on board, the rest of the crew being sentries and drones. Good. Matt knew how to handle sentries and drones. If he could get a signal to the ship without being detected by it, which his instruments should allow him to do, getting in would be a piece of cake. 

There was nothing about which paladin it was or which lion.

"Pirik, any luck on those teammates?"

"We've got a few to pick from here, there's your snipers, the up-close-and-personal fighters, and what I like to call 'Brute Force' which really means a bunch of bulkiness that will ram things and scare people," Pirik said as he laid fifteen soldier's files on Matt's desk. 

Matt scanned the files, recognizing most of them as people he'd worked with before or taught in his classes. And true to his word, Pirik had separated them into three categories best fitting their abilities and disposition. Matt picked two snipers that he'd worked with twice before (and had good chemistry, oddly more important than you'd think), two "Brute Force"s, and a close-range fighter.  

"These six. Tell them to meet me here immediately after lunch," Matt said. He leaned over the pile of papers to grab the rest of the day's reports. "The General wants the report on the final team tonight."

 _"Tonight?"_ Pirik said, nearly dropping the sheets Matt had given him. "Is she crazy?!"

Matt rolled his eyes. "The mission is under extreme time limits, Pirik. As it is we have to leave first thing tomorrow, if not tonight."

"Why so fast?" Pirik asked, seemingly genuinely shocked by the timing of the situation. 

"The paladin will be in central command in two quintants if we don't act soon," Matt said. (He didn't understand what Pirik wasn't getting, _of course,_ it had to be so fast and so soon, it was a _Paladin of Voltron_ they were rescuing.) "It has to be fast."

 _"Merde,_ no wonder she chose you," Pirik said, slouching against the doorframe. "You're the only one who could even think about doing things that fast, much less do them."

"Thank you, Pirik."

"Oh no, that wasn't a compliment. I was calling you crazy." 

Pirik left to go deliver Matt's message, leaving Matt alone to work on the rest of the morning reports. 

* * *

Seven people (not counting himself, but counting Pirik) were in Matt's office, looking at him expectantly. All the requested people showed up, (which made Matt wonder what Pirik had told them, how urgent did he make this seem? How urgent was did it need to be?) and were eagerly awaiting orders. 

Matt stood in front of his desk, facing them. (He channeled Commander Iverson from the Garrison, the toughest and least forgiving person he could think of.) 

"Alright," Matt started. "This mission, should you choose to accept, will be rescuing a crucial ally to the rebellion from a Galra cruiser. The mission will begin tonight just before lights out and continue through tomorrow and the next day. Any questions?"

A chorus of firm "No, Commander"s chimed from the soldiers in front of him. 

"If you do not accept this mission, step out now."

None did.

"Good. Start preparing to leave. You will be sharing overnight quarters."

They filed out quickly. Matt sat back down at his desk, and Pirik leaned his (elbow?) arm on it, facing away from Matt.

"Nice speech. You're getting better at it."

"Thank you Pirik, but I don't think that would count as a speech."

"No, I guess not. But the speech after the mission will be," Pirik said. "I'm gonna go pack, which ship are we taking?"

"A Lightyear."

"Laaaame."

* * *

The cruiser was in sight, and Matt was close to panicking. 

This was an important mission! And sure, Matt had taken on important missions before, but this was Voltron, and Voltron was huge! Voltron was older and more powerful than the Galra Empire! Good lord, what if the paladin had gotten captured on purpose and was planning to take out the Galra from the inside? What if Matt ruined everything by rescuing them? What if Matt got captured when trying to rescue them? What if the crew got captured? What if Matt had everything taken from him and was delivered on the doorstep of the Rebellion as a laughingstock and a mockery? What if-

"Getting close to the dropoff point. You might want to make a speech while we still have time," Pirik said.

"I suck at speeches," Matt argued.

"Then pretend to not. They're getting anxious, and so are you. Go give them a pep-talk."

Matt sighed, standing up from the co-pilot's seat and to the main room. The team stood when he entered, a show of respect. He gestured for them to sit. 

"Alright team," he started. He channeled the best leader in him. "This is a big mission. Failure isn't an option. Don't think about it- don't even consider failure. We will go in there, we will show the Galra what-for, and we come back home."

A quick glance to where Pirik was visible in the cockpit showed that wasn't a very good start. Matt decided to throw in the towel and just said, "I never did tell you guys who we're saving, did I?"

At the shaking of heads, Matt continued. "A Paladin of Voltron." Stunned gasps. "Yes, a Paladin of Voltron. We are rescuing a Paladin of Voltron from the Galra, and starting the process of joining the Rebellion's forces with Voltron's. I handpicked all of you because I know you can do this. Now get ready to go out there and show the Galra why they don't mess with us. We will show the Galra why taking on the Phoenix Rebellion is such a dumb move."

Matt goes back to the cockpit. 

"How bad was the speech?" he asks Pirik as he gets his stuff ready for the drop.

"Not your worst, but you've given better. Rendevous in ten, get ready for dropoff."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright brief explanations: Pirik sometimes speaks French not because he's actually speaking French, but because the translators keep the integrity of another language/another meaning for some words and since Matt knows French in this fic, that's what it's translating to. It'll come up again, but nothing super integral to the story. The reason I didn't name any of the team for the rescue mission is that one: creating characters is hard, and two: they aren't really going to come back after the rescue mission, so I didn't want to create a bunch of characters that aren't going to be important. That's also why I didn't give any details as to the species and appearance of Pirik and General Fleon because it isn't really important to the story. If you would like to know, please ask! I do have stuff for them! So if I name a character you can assume that they're important/going to come up again. You might've also noticed the severe lack of hints as to which paladin Matt's rescuing, and for that, I'm afraid the first big hint is at the end of next chapter and the "big reveal" is in the fourth chapter. However, I will tell you that it isn't someone you would think of right away.


	3. Pull up Your Sleeves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the week late update, y'all.

Dropoffs into open space were not Matt's idea of a good time. Maybe in a different lifetime, he would have appreciated the freedom of it, like his slightly deranged uncle and jumping out of airplanes. But in this lifetime, it reminded him too much of how little control he had. 

He touched down against the hull of the ship, barely audible. He fiddled with his suit to latch on to the side and watched as the rest of the team landed in a similar fashion around him. He nodded to one of the bigger soldiers, and they started cutting a large hole in the side of the ship for the team to enter through, ripping it off. They enter, slowly propelling each other through the hole. There was no gravity inside the section of the ship that they entered. 

Matt takes out his tablet (he's sure to wrap the anti-gravity safety strap around his wrist, he'd nearly had a heart attack when he'd let go that one time) and tries to get into the security system. He gets far enough to dismantle the alarm, but that seems to be the only thing that can be done remotely. 

"You," he points to one of the snipers and the close-range fighter. "Come with me to the control room. The rest of you follow Pirik, he'll lead to the Paladin. After you get them you need to lead them to their lion. I should be able to get you enough time, but don't linger. After that Pirik will get you back to the ship and we'll meet up there. Understand?"

"Yes, Commander Holt."

"Good." 

The team splits, and Matt turns right. "The control room is this way," he explains. He checks the map, and down the hallway is- an elevator. (Or, what counted as an elevator on an alien warship. A lift.)

See, the control room was on a separate level than the one they had entered on.

Making it to the lift- even though it was two hallways away- proved near-impossible. Matt found himself thanking the forces above for the Galra's love of support poles. They extended all the way to the wall, leaving just enough room behind them that the sentries didn't see their group.

Once they made it to the floor below them, Matt called Pirik via the comms in his suit. "How are things on your end?"

"Good," his second responded. He was panting slightly. "Nearly there. I don't think we've been seen. You?"

"The same. Have had a few close calls. Check patrol routes frequently."

"Yes, sir." 

They had only two more hallways to make it past when the sentries managed to spot them. There were two of them, and they started firing immediately. 

Matt cursed. He turned to the two fighters with him and said,"Hold these guys off, buy me some time before they sound the alarm," while pulling out his tablet. 

Knowing his plan, the two nodded. The sniper took position several feet away, firing quieter stun shots at the sentries. The fighter got 'close and personal', taking the brunt of the robot's fire and dancing around them. Neither actually struck the robots.

Matt pulled to the side, out of the sentries' sight and firing range. He tapped into their specific control settings (something he'd learned in prison with his door controls- a long story he was fond of telling) and meddled with their programming. 

Really, though, designing such a simple database for the sentry's loyalties was plain dumb, it's like the Galra were asking to be hacked. 

From the sudden quiet (as opposed to the guns firing), Matt guessed he was successful. 

"Come on," he said. 

The control room wasn't as guarded as Matt thought it should be- what with a paladin of Voltron on board and all- but there were a good ten guards, none of them robots.

Which sucked for Matt.

He ducked back down into the hallway with his team, waving them into a small circle. "I'm going to send in the sentries first. Set them to lethal, and hopefully, the Galra inside will lose some numbers and think the programming's gone haywire. Or they'll know we're here. It gets some of them out either way. We take down whoever comes out, and then go in and get the rest of them, clear?"

"All clear, Commander," the sniper said. 

Matt nodded and started reworking the sentry's code. The robot stood at attention and saluted him, showing readiness. 

"Go in there and kill any and all Galra you can," he orders.

The robots march in the room, and Matt doesn't listen to the chaos and pain they cause. But soon after the noise stops and he can hear some gruff speech in Galran. 

He nods to the fighter.

When the scout comes out, he didn't even have time to shout. Matt peaked in the open door he left, seeing only four of the guards still there. He uses his fingers to show the number to his team, who he saw nod their understanding in the corner of his eye. 

He stood to as full a height he could bring himself to (anything would help considering how tall and intimidating Galra are) and fully opened the door.

"Now," he said, lifting both hands (with a pistol in each) "Let's see those access codes."

* * *

Matt was flipping through the cameras he had access to, trying to find either the Bridge, the Paladin's Lion, or the Paladin and Pirik. 

Pirik radioed in: "We have the paladin. Leaving now. Expected to be at the lion in five- our ship in ten."

"Excellent, Pirik. Keep me updated."

He turns to the two soldiers behind him. "We'll leave in another five minutes, or when the Galra on the bridge finds out we're here. Whichever happens first."

The universe must not have been on his side that night, because the room's comms instantly chimed from the bridge, something gruff and Galran coming through.

Matt really needed to program a universal translator. Or at least a Galra-to-English translator. Maybe French.

"Can either of you answer them?" he asked.

The sniper shrugged, before speaking into the microphones in a very bad Galran tongue. There was some back and forth- and the sniper kept wincing- before they turned back to Matt and the fighter and said. "Yeah, it didn't go well..."

"How long?"

"Uhm, maybe a dobosh?"

"Alright, get out of here. I'll be right behind you, let me radio Pirik."

They left. Matt wasn't there yet. He hits the dashboard open, shutting down as many programs as he can, without cutting off their exit. ('Door' was one of the very few Galran characters Matt knew, for this reason) Cameras were out, sensors were out, communications, Matt used to see how long it would take before he turned off gravity by accident. 

He decided to give Pirik a head's up of the inevitable. 

"Hey, they caught us. I sent the other two out already, I'm doing the thing with gravity. Get ready."

"The trigger-finger-shut-down?" Pirik asks. "Dude, you seriously need to learn the character for _'gravity'_ and _'air'_. But consider us warned. Get out of there soon."

"Sure."

There went the lights. Maybe he should turn those back on. Another one, wonder what that one did, Matt thinks he recognizes one of those characters, bam, bing, and he thinks that one means security- there's the gravity!

The door to the control room was pounded down right before gravity kicked off, giving Matt the opportunity of his dreams to float passed the Galra in 0g. It wasn't as graceful as he imagined it, with his kickoff being less than sufficient, but they were disoriented enough that it didn't matter. 

"We've made it to the lion. Headed back to the ship now. Meet you there, Commander," Pirik said on the comms. 

"Good. Did you meet with the others?" Matt asked while making another kickoff. 

"Yes. Could you maybe turn the gravity back on?"

"Left the control room. They're hot on my trail."

_"Merde."_

Matt bounces down the hallway, hearing the Galra catching up behind him. He didn't have time to check the map, but the lift should be at the end of the hallway-

Yep. There it is. 

Matt swung himself into the lift, thanking any higher power that he didn't cut off power to it with his 'trigger-finger', and activated it. The Galra all but held the lift up to prevent it from going, tearing off the control panel (and oddly taking the controls with it), ripping off the door, it was kinda funny to watch in 0g. Pretty much every attempt failed. 

Matt arrived on the first level, kicked off the back of the lift as strongly as he could, and tried to some degree to find his way around the place before the Galra found him. He opened his map, saw he was only a hallway away from the jump site, and turned on his oxygen supply. 

"Matt!" he heard Pirik shout. "Come on, we've got to go!"

"Am I the last one?"

"Always. Everyone's waiting and the Galra are coming, we've got to go."

"Right."

Pirik used his jetpack to guide him to the ship, disregarding the hole in the Galra ship that they left behind them. 

Once they're inside, Pirik takes the pilot's seat and leaves the copilot to Matt. "The team's ready for sail. The blue lion is linked into our radio for ease of communications. On your mark, Commander."

"Go ahead, Pirik. Aim for a moon or a planet or something so we can meet up with the Paladin and discuss alliances and meetings. Discuss it with them. I'll go talk to the team."

Matt makes to leave the cockpit, but before he does he turns back to look at the view in front of his ship. The wide expanse of space. Mostly far away stars and galaxies, some asteroid field that's relatively nearby, and the Blue Lion flying on their right. Matt stops for a moment and lets himself think, by god I've done it. He knows it isn't over, he still has to negotiate with the Paladin and the Galra could attack at any moment, but the hard part is over. His mission is mostly over. 

Matt thinks of other things too, looking at those stars. He lets pride and glee from the successful mission take him over for a second, and then reminds himself what else is out there; who else is out there. Shiro was probably dead, he knew. His dad probably wasn't so lucky. His mother and Pidge were probably back home missing half their family unit and thinking they were gone for good (Matt wouldn't let himself think about not going home, he couldn't stomach it.) He hoped his sister hadn't done anything too drastic- and he had so much to fight for. He won this battle. He looked at the stars.

The stars were always what Matt dreamed about. Since he was a toddler, even in the Garrison he dreamed about being among the stars. And now that he was, he wanted to go home. So Matt looked at the stars, the stars that used to represent a dream for him. A hope. The stars still meant hope. Some stars were older than the Galra Empire, and some would outlive it. Seeing stars meant you survived another day. Seeing stars means freedom is on the horizon. Yes, stars meant hope. 

And he lets his gaze stray to the right, and the Blue Lion reminds him that stars aren't the only symbol of hope they have. Voltron meant hope. 

And he was to deliver it. 

No pressure. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yes, Matt rescues the Paladin of the Blue Lion. No, I'm not telling you which one. Yes, it's in the next chapter. Yes, I tricked you into reading a rarepair fic because it had a really good premise. Yes, you should keep reading anyway. Yes, it will be romantic. Downright sappy even. I've got a sunset picnic scene planned, people. Yes, I can write other (very similar but also very different) fics where Matt saves Pidge and Shiro, but not until I finish this one. Yes, my updates aren't on schedule. Next chapter should be within the next two weeks, no more than a month at worst. Yes, I do have a fic where Pidge saves Matt. It's titled 'Lost and Found' if you want to check that out. It's not my best work, certainly not as good as this one, but it was my first thing for this fandom. Yes, that was a semi-shameless self-promotion. No, Mr. Weasley, you cannot say that five times fast.
> 
> But now that I've revealed the color of the lion, I'd like to see all of you guess which Paladin it is!!! Please let me know, I'm ridiculously curious. Also, hit me up on Tumblr, @moonlit-notebook


	4. The Whole World At Your Fingertips

They landed just left of the Blue Lion. Matt dismissed the team to the rooms on the ship and told one of them to watch for Galra ships, while he and Pirik talked to the Blue Lion's Paladin about joining the alliance.

Which Matt was not looking forward to.

Diplomacy was not his strong suit. Far from it, in fact. He was better when things had a set way they would act, or when patterns were predictable and reliable. People were different. People had a dozen million patterns and programs and you never knew which one would win with every interaction, or what to say to trigger a specific one. People were weird. Matt was bad with people. 

Point being, he was nervous. Maybe he should let Pirik do the talking.

Pirik had invited the Paladin aboard their ship, and Matt was pacing back and forth in front of the table where his right-hand man sat. Pirik had stopped trying to get him to calm down three minutes ago, abandoning it in favor of starting the mission paperwork. 

There was a polite knock on the door to the ship. 

Matt jumped towards it, opening it in a rush to greet the Paladin. When he opened the door he was met with pink and white armor, from their boots to their helmet. Matt let them in, stepping aside to allow them a good look at the room. 

"Is it alright if I shut the door? Or would you prefer it left open?" Matt asked.

"Shutting it is alright," a british _(British!?)_ accent answered. 

Matt turned to look back at the Paladin, who had removed their helmet. Hair as white as her armor cascaded passed the Paladin's shoulders, perfectly complimented by her dark complexion. Her ears were elven (pointed, that is,) and there were pink crescent markings under her eyes. He couldn't see her eyes from where he stood, but he was certain that they were as beautiful and as ethereal as the rest of her.

Pirik caught Matt's eye and glared a bit at him, looking back at the door. 

Door. Door. Something about the door...

Oh. Matt needed to shut the door. He had been gaping, mouth open and everything.  Oops. 

The door shut with a click and Matt extended his right hand to the Paladin. "Matthew Holt, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Consultant Commander of the Phoenix Rebellion, it's a pleasure to meet you."

The Paladin smiled at him (a gorgeous smile, he must add. He could feel his heart pick up and his cheeks flush,) and said, "Princess Allura of Altea, Pilot of the Blue Lion and Pink Paladin of Voltron, thank you for rescuing me."

Allura.

"It truly is our honor, Paladin Allura," Matt said. "Please, have a seat." He pulled out a chair for her- causing Pirik to raise his eyebrow at him.

Matt ignored him, sitting across from their guest. "This is my right-hand, Pirik. He's the one who got you off the Galra ship."

"Yes, thank you. I really do appreciate you and your team rescuing me, it is truly noble of you to do something for someone you don't have an alliance with."

"It's no problem," Matt said. "Really- the entire Rebellion looks up to Voltron, we'd feel awful if we _didn't_ do something. And our superiors would like to form an alliance, this is just the first time we got the chance to contact you."

"Well, I'd need to contact the rest of Voltron first-"

"Of course!" Matt said, all but jumping forward. (Later, Pirik would tell him that his smile was far wider than it was on any other diplomatic mission.) "Whatever you need, really. It's no trouble to us, and Phoenix's Rebellion can wait if need be."

"Thank you, Commander Holt."

"Oh, please! Matthew is fine, you can call me Matt if you like! Everyone else does."

Allura tilted her head lightly, as if subconsciously listening to the way it sounded. "Yes. Thank you, Matt. And I'd hate to ask, but the Blue Lion doesn't have what I need... Do you have any badges for wrapping larger wounds? The ones I have are either meant for smaller or more severe that what I have."

"You're injured?" Matt asked. He eyed Pirik, annoyed that he hadn't been told. "Yes, I'm sure Pirik can find something like that in our medical room. Can't you, Pirik?"

Pirik grumbled something mean for only Matt, before smiling at Allura. "I'll see what I can do."

Pirik left, only to quickly be replaced by the soldier Matt had put on Galra-watch.

"Sir," he started, but Matt was already standing. 

"How many?"

"Not many? Maybe half what was on the transport ship, sir."

"Get everyone to battle stations. Pirik went to the medical room, he's in charge. I'll get Paladin Allura back to the Blue Lion. Make sure we get cover fire as soon as we can, we won't wait for it."

Allura, having gathered what was going on, stood and put her helmet on. She reached for the door, making sure Matt was behind her and ready. She opened it, and they sprinted across the open field to where the Lion sat. 

Matt watched the lion lean down and open its large jaws in what would've been amazement and horror, had there not been lasers raining around him. Allura was taking most of the fire with a shield that came from her wrist, and Matt followed closely in her shadow as they got to the Blue Lion. Allura jumped into the jaws without hesitation and Matt follows with a pause. The pause is enough for one of the rays to nick him in the shoulder, causing him to hiss in pain as he gets to the cockpit.

Allura pays him no mind, only pushing some buttons on the dashboard to make a second chair for Matt to sit in. 

"Can you open communications with Pirik?" Matt asked. 

Allura does so, wordlessly. She guides the Blue Lion off the planet and starts taking aim at fighter ships. Matt watches his team's ship as it shoots down anything its path.

"What can I do to help?"

* * *

It wasn't long before they had finally ditched the Galra fighters, thanks to Allura piloting the Blue Lion. (She had grabbed the end of the Rebel's ship in the Blue Lion's jaw and hyper-sped out of there.) However, she still had untreated injuries. And aggravating them in the fight, well...

"Paladin Allura!" Matt cried, catching her as she fell out of the pilot's seat. 

She seemed unconscious, so Matt turned to where Pirik was still on the communications channel. "Paladin down, get the lion loaded on the ship and get us back to base. I'll bring her on board."

"Yes, sir."

Matt secured both their helmets and prepped for a ship-to-ship jump. 

He really hated these jumps. 

They land with a hard _thump_ just to the right of the door, Matt taking most of the impact. He holds Allura against him with his left hand, using his right to run along the side of the ship to get to the door of the airlock. 

"C'mon," he whispers. To himself or to Allura, he doesn't know. 

He yanks the door open, almost sending them spiraling into the void of space. He throws the grappling hook attached to his belt into the airlock, and it catches on one of the handles. He yanks them inside. He gets Allura in first, yanking the door shut after him when he gets in behind her. He smashes the button to activate the airlock and sinks into the ship's gravity. 

He moves Allura so that he's carrying her bridal style, and checks what he can see (which isn't much) for any new bruises. Which was stupid, because even in humans if she had any they wouldn't have formed yet. Did Allura even bruise?

He starts to take her to his room- the only bed he can count on being available until she wakes up. Pirik finds him halfway there, and he has the bandages that they meant to put on Allura before the attack. 

"Should we wait?" he asks. "It won't be easy with her asleep, but we need to know if they got worse during the battle- she may have lost blood."

"If she even bleeds," Matt said.

"She does. She's Altean," Pirik said. 

Matt raises his eyebrow at him. "Altean? Should I recognize that?"

"Not really. I thought they were all dead, in honesty. Zarkon destroyed their planet in the very early years of the war. Like, before a thousand years in. The Alteans were actually who created Voltron, and that's why we know about them now. Seeing one in person- it's actually pretty surreal."

"No kidding?"

"Matt, I have no idea what offspring have to do with this. I'm hoping this is just another Earth phrase because this is a very serious topic."

"It is. I asked if you were serious about all this."

"I am," the two walked in silence for a bit, before Pirik looks at Matt and gasps really loudly. "Do you think the other Paladins are Alteans?"

"Pirik." 

"No, I'm serious! I'm... what did you say, no kidding? I'm no kidding, Matt!" 

"Pirik, please."

"I mean, they're all bipeds, right? And they all have two arms. They could be Altean!"

"From that description, I could be Altean," Matt argued.

"OhMyStars- Matt. What if the Paladins are humans?"

"Pirik that is the most ridiculous thing you've said this entire conversation."

"It's possible! C'mon, Matt! It's possible!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, it's Allura. I am head-over-heels for her. And yes, so is Matt.  
> I hope you guys don't mind the rarepair. And the whole "maybe they think the Paladins are Alteans" thing was actually thought up by an anonymous (but brilliant) commenter on chapter two. And congrats to Destala for being the first to guess Allura! As always, please leave comments and kudos if you enjoyed. Were you expecting Allura, even after I revealed the Blue Lion? How do you think this will play out?  
> Also, yell at me on Tumblr! @moonlit-notebook


	5. Don't Be Afraid

Matt would love to tell you that he got a decent amount of sleep on the way back after the mission. A full eight hours uninterrupted. He woke up refreshed and ready for the day.

But, see, Allura was in his bed (leaving him to nap in the copilots chair) and he had nightmares even on his best nights. So, no, he did not sleep the amount that he should have. In fact, he was awake when Pirik came back from bandaging Allura's wounds. (Which had been bleeding pretty heavily, but only on her shoulders.)

"You should get some rest," Pirik said. "I can move Allura in here, or to my bed."

"No, that's alright. I'm not going to get any sleep tonight, anyway."

Pirik, who knew Matt painfully well, made the expression that was the alien equivalent of his mom frowning at him when she knew he was lying.

"Was it the jumps?"

Matt sighed at having been called out. "It's always the jumps."

"Are they still that bad? Are you sure you don't wanna..."

"I'm sure, Pirik."

"Alright."

Almost every time Matt had a nightmare bad enough to keep him up, it was about the jumps. The lack of gravity. The void of space. Floating aimlessly, with no control. Pirik said he should go to a counselor, that there was no shame in it and that most people sought help from someone in the city, and even recommended someone. But Matt said it felt like giving up.

"I'll get you some of that gross human stuff you like so much," Pirik said.

"It's called coffee..."

"Don't care. It's _gross,_ Matt."

"Most humans do drink it, Pirik. I promise."

"Doesn't matter." Pirik continued to make the pot of coffee, having long memorized how Matt liked it after the several late nights they had together finishing work for their superiors. And on night like these, where Matt needed the comfort of something familiar to keep the demons at bay.

"So," Pirik said. "What are other humans like, anyway?"

Seeing Matt's expression, Pirik continued, "I know we don't talk about our time before the Phoenix, but, you got me thinking last night with the whole 'humans look like alteans' thing, so I figured we could make an exception."

Matt leaned forward. "What do you mean, 'we don't talk about our time before Phoenix'?"

"Well, it's kind of this unwritten rule that everyone has. You ever notice how nobody talks about their family or their home? Like talking about it would be saying goodbye?"

"Isn't it?" Matt asked him. "Saying goodbye?"

"Of course not," Pirik said. "Talking about something, missing something, doesn't mean it's gone. If anything, it means it's still there. Because then someone else knows about it."

Matt considered it.

Aw, who was he kidding.

He missed his family.

"Humans- as a whole, excluding some weirdos like myself- are a social species. Our early evolution and civilizations were very dependent on people and their ability to work together."

"Whoa."

"Yeah. But eventually complex society became a thing and yada yada, same stuff as other planets. My own family is pretty normal, there's me, my mother and father, and my younger sister-"

"-whoa! You have a little sister?"

"Yeah! Her name's Katie and some people say we look alike, but I don't see it."

"You mean there's another one of you? _Merde._ Does she drink that gross stuff too?"

* * *

  
"Sir," One of the sharpshooters said. "Someone is trying to contact the Blue Lion. We believe it may be one of the other Paladins of Voltron- but Paladin Allura is still out from the attack earlier."

Matt, who was in the middle of flying the ship, thought it over for _maybe_ two seconds: "Send Pirik to talk to them. I've got to be ready for when the city opens communications."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

  
Pirik entered the Blue Lion with far more caution than was strictly necessary.

He had _heard_ stories about Voltron, okay?

And he knew why Matt had sent him to answer the call for Paladin Allura, but why couldn't he answer it himself?

So maybe he was flying the ship, big deal. Pirik could fly the ship.

Maybe he was the only one who could get them back to base. There might be a safety protocol about the Commander of a mission being in the room at time of entry.

But still. Voltron was _scary_.

Regardless, Pirik stepped up to what must've been the control panel, because there were the pilot controls and a pilot's chair and a high-pitched sound coming from the... desk?

"Uhm," Pirik voiced. "How do I... answer that...?"

But it turns out he didn't have to, as the call came through as soon as he vocalized his thoughts.

And the person on the other end gave him a fresh reminder that, yes, Voltron was scary.

He was twice Pirik's size, bulky, and appeared to be taller than Matt. (Matt was the tallest person Pirik had seen at Phoenix, and the only people that he had ever seen taller than him were Galra.) And if that wasn't scary enough, the black armor gave away his rank and the white hair glared almost as much as the face under it.

"Who are you? Where's Allura?"

Pirik faked composure, something that he could actually do, unlike his Commander.

"Paladin Allura is safe. We rescued her and her lion from Galra captivity about ten vargas ago. And we'd let her get this call herself, but she had some injuries and is currently sleeping. We thought it best not to wake her."

The Black Paladin nodded shortly.

"She mentioned something like that," he says. "Can I speak to your commander?"

Pirik fights back a cultural joke (well, it was really language but who cares) and instead answers with: "I'm his second in Command. He would love to talk to you right now, but can't due to safety procedures about re-entry into the Rebellion's city." Y'know, that was a good idea. "I can send you the coordinates, if you like. Our city would be happy to welcome the legendary Defenders of the Universe, after all."

The Black Paladin nodded briskly, smiling- smiling?- slightly. "Yes, that would be great, thank you."

* * *

  
" _Matthew,"_ Pirik says as he enters the cockpit. "Don't you ever make me do something like that again. Voltron is _terrifying."_

Matt rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. What was the call about?"

"It was the Black Paladin, Matt! The Black! Paladin! Of Voltron!"

Pirik seemed to have forgotten that Matt had not grown up with the stories of Voltron that he had, because his face fell when Matt didn't react.

"Okay?" Matt said instead. "Another paladin?"

"The _leader,_ Matthew."

A raised eyebrow.

"That's what Zarkon used to be."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Pirik sighed. _"'Oh'._ He asked to talk to you, y'know, but I told him about the procedure for re-entry and- oh yeah. I gave him the coordinates for _Lumiere Noveau_."

"Pirik!" Matt launched out of his seat, running his hands through his hair and beginning to pace. "Why didn't you start with that? General Fleon is gonna kill me..."

"She wanted to establish contact, right? This is what she wanted!"

"No! She wanted to negotiate with _one_ paladin! Not _all_ of them!"

Matt sat down in his chair again, renewed energy focused on making his hair even messier. And it would've gotten pretty bad if one of their teammates didn't knock on the door.

"Sir?" she asked.

"Yes? What is it?" Matt asked.

"Paladin Allura is stirring- we think she's waking up."

Queue more running the hands through the hair.

"If- if you want- I can go check on her?" Pirik offered.

"Oh, no," Matt said. "You are going to fly this ship into Lumiere Noveau. You are explaining to the General why Voltron is at her front door."

"Matt-" Pirik pleaded.

"Fly us in, Lieutenant. That's an order."

Pirik looked hurt and guiltily toward the pilot's seat, whispering a "yes, sir."

Matt left with a sigh and his hand knotting in his hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pirik is me. He would like coffee if Matt put more sugar in it.  
> Also! Hello Shiro! Have I added him to the character tags yet?  
> And yeah, I haven't updated in a while. A few months. The better part of a year. What's new?   
> On that note, I'd love to tell you that Chapter Six is coming soon but I don't know when it's coming. Should be before Halloween, at the earliest. But no promises. 
> 
> Leave kudos and comments if you enjoyed! Tell me what you liked!

**Author's Note:**

> Leave comments and kudos if you liked it! Let me know what you think!


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